How to Balance Classical Guitar String Height?

On most classical guitars, it is noticed that the strings are quite higher than the fretboard. This is usually due to the guitar threshold being set higher than necessary to increase the loudness of the guitar’s sound.

This situation, which allows the sound to be heard loudly, on the one hand, reduces the dominance of the guitar player on the keyboard, on the other hand, it causes the guitarist to use more energy and get tired quickly. By following the 5 steps below, you can make your guitar more playable.

Sanding

You can use water abrasives, which can be easily found in DIY stores, to lower the lower threshold. Values such as 800, 900, 1000 are seen on the back surfaces of these sandpapers. As these values increase, the sanding surface becomes thinner, and as the values decrease, it becomes thicker.

For thinning the lower threshold, we recommend using abrasives of 800 or less.

Determine Wire Height

String height refers to the distance between the strings and the guitar fingerboard.

When the distance between the strings and the keyboard is examined closely, it is seen that the string height gradually increases from the upper sill to the lower sill. Although the maximum number of mm that the lower threshold can be lowered depends on this difference, the basic criterion is that the strings do not hit the curtain rods while vibrating.

Remove Bottom Threshold

First of all, all wires should be loosened or completely removed. In this way, the lower threshold can be easily removed from its place.

CAUTION! At the lower threshold, the part where the thick wires coincide is higher than the part where the thin wires coincide. It is important to identify the higher part of the sill before removing the sill from the groove in which it is placed and to pay attention to this difference when reinstalling it. Otherwise, you will upset the balance between the bass strings and the treble strings.

Refine the Bottom Threshold

At this point, sand the bottom surface of the threshold to thin the lower threshold you removed by the mm you determined. Here, you can start the thinning process by placing the rough surface of the sandpaper on a table and moving the lower surface of the sill over the sandpaper.

Uncontrolled lowering of the lower threshold causes the strings to strike the frets during playing and produce unwanted sounds. When such problems are encountered, re-sizing can be done on a new lower threshold or service can be obtained from the instrument makers.

Put the Threshold Back in Place and Tune Your Strings

Finally, place the lower threshold that you have brought to the desired height and tune your strings. You can now progress your guitar studies more easily. You can review the luthiers’ page to get professional help on this issue. ​ ​

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